The first cadet to spot the armored cavalry witnessed a miracle.
The massive blade pierced through the wall and stopped just inches from their eyes.
“Huff... Huff...”
But was it really a miracle?
No, it was not. The blade, which would have pierced through the entire massive building, had not been stopped by the wall but by empty air.
No...
It hadn't stopped.
There was a crack in the air, spreading like a spiderweb. A thin, bluish membrane.
It was that membrane that had stopped the weapon.
The cadet felt a surge of mana from the barrier unlike anything they had ever felt.Right now, in this building, there was only one person who could wield this much mana.
“Headmaster...?”
* * *
The rooftop of Research Building 12.
Headmaster Alderson had been aware of everything happening inside the building.
The slowly collapsing lines of defense, the cadets consumed by madness, the young heroes pushed to their limits... and the power of the Imperial House, manifested in a moment of crisis.
Glenn Scarlet's awakening was certainly encouraging, but it was not enough to resolve the underlying crisis.
Ultimately, despite being aware of all those perilous moments, Alderson had not intervened because the real threat lingered above.
Two hundred and fifty armored cavalry of his own creation.
“...”
Alderson Maveur revered the Platinum King and admired the Platinum Knight Order.
It might seem strange for a mage to have such feelings for an order of knights. In fact, for this very reason, Alderson was often regarded as an eccentric by the other Archmages of Seven Colors.
Typically, seven out of ten mages revered the Mage King, while the remaining three chose the Nameless King.
But Alderson respected the Platinum King the most, and the reason for that was surprisingly simple: The Platinum King had founded Kartell Academy.
In other words, the Platinum King had been the academy’s first headmaster.
According to historical records, after he established the academy and became its headmaster, more than half of the Platinum Knight Order had taken up positions within the academy.
The knights had become professors, instructors, guards, and even, on rare occasions, cadets.
It was an interesting outcome.
The Platinum King had reigned when the continent was at its most dangerous and chaotic, before the Nameless King had yet unified the continent.
Naturally, the Platinum Knight Order, the sword of the Platinum King, had participated in the most battles in history and had inevitably taken the most lives.
That kingdom, which had later become the foundation of the Nameless Empire, had been called Atan.
In its days as a kingdom, the Platinum Knight Order had been grim reapers to their enemies.
So why, then, after the war had ended, had they not chosen careers that utilized their talents?
Scholars argued that it was the ultimate show of the Platinum Knights’ loyalty.
Even after the king’s abdication, they’d remained true subjects, vowing to serve their master until death.
And thus, in The Empire today, the term ‘Platinum Knight’ was synonymous with the exemplary ideal of a knight.
One fact Alderson knew was that the relationship between the Platinum King and the Platinum Knights had not been so rigid. They had been surprisingly close with each other.
The Platinum King had been known for his hearty and magnanimous personality, and so had his knights.
Many did not know this, but most of the Platinum Knights hadn't even been of noble birth. There had been commoners, nobles, and even former death-row prisoners among them.
Naturally, their relationship with the king had not been strictly vertical. In fact, records of conversations kept by the imperial family revealed that it seemed to have been more of an exchange between a bandit leader and his merry bandit companions.
Because of that, many people found the historical accounts of the Platinum King hard to believe even after reading them personally.
But that wasn’t surprising. Even if they were nobles, knights calling their king ‘Big Brother’ would surely seem rather unusual.
In any case, after his abdication, the Platinum King disbanded the Platinum Knight Order and granted them freedom.
That meant that whether or not they followed him to the academy and made that place their home was entirely up to them.
Somehow, Alderson felt like he understood their reason for choosing the academy.
They must have discovered the joy of teaching.
Just like him.
It still amazed him, at times. That the reckless, selfish, and delinquent mage he’d once been had become the headmaster of an academy.
A person born virtuous, Alderson thought, one who never did anything wrong, one who never experienced failure...
Such a person would certainly be admirable and worth looking up to.
He did not think those people were suited to be true mentors, however.
...Of course, he might be biased.
Even so, Alderson knew that there was a difference in education between those who had made mistakes and tasted failure, and those who had not.
It wasn't a matter of talent or passion. It was a matter of sincerity.
Those who had experienced failure were much more desperate. They didn’t want their students to mess up like they had.
In fact, wasn’t that very thought the foundation of being a teacher?
...
Surely the Platinum Knight Order and the Platinum King had felt the same way.
War and slaughter, even for the sake of the nation, ate away at the human heart.
Killing, getting injured, healing, nearly dying, and killing again—the Platinum Knight Order had spent at least 20 years on the battlefield.
It had been a common inside joke within the order that they should change their name to the Red Knight Order instead.
So when the Platinum Knights retired and became professors at the academy...
What kind of change could have taken place in their hearts?
Whenever Alderson imagined that time he had never witnessed, he couldn’t help but laugh.
For former knights, for those who had always worn armor, suits must have been awkward attire indeed.
Stiff from wearing clothes they weren’t used to, sometimes being corrected by the very cadets they taught, finding themselves having to learn again at such an old age just to teach... And as the years passed...
...When deep wrinkles set into their faces. When none of the students at the academy found it strange calling them professors, and when they themselves no longer rejected that title...
Perhaps at that moment, for the first time in their lives, the Platinum Knights had felt at peace.
“...Sir Darun,” Alderson muttered under his breath.
The caped knight who had just thrown the weapon. Of all the armored cavalry, only one wore a cape.
Sir Darun Swhyte, former commander of the Platinum Knight Order.
* * * * *
* * * * *
To be honest, Alderson still didn't want to harm the Platinum Knights.
Because they were his own handmade cavalry? Because he still respected them?
...Those were reasons weren’t entirely wrong, but they weren’t exactly right either.
Alderson had memorized the names of all 250 members of the Platinum Knight Order.
To honor their spirits, he had recovered all the weapons and armor they had once used and equipped them properly. It had cost an astronomical sum, and the collection had been even more difficult than the price, but he’d made it happen.
To Alderson, each and every one of those armored knights was no different from a national treasure. The idea of destroying them felt akin to ruining a piece of history.
The worst part, of course, was that all this had happened due to his own mistakes and carelessness.
But...
Creak.
The eyes of the armored cavalry flashed.
All 250 gazes turned to Alderson at once.
[Attack failed.]
[Analyzing cause.]
[Analysis complete.]
[Confirming grand magic <Platinum Bastion>. Caster, Alderson Maveur.]
[Alderson Maveur is now the highest-priority target for elimination.]
Clunk.
With mechanical voices, all of the Platinum Knights soared into the air once more and adopted that same stance.
“Ah—” Arin squeaked.
The same throwing stance that Darun had taken earlier.
Hundreds of armored cavalry flying high into the sky, prepared to hurl their weapons... Somehow, it didn't feel real.
Arin even forgot that they were trying to kill her.
With their back against the blood-lit sky, there was a kind of... sacredness about them.
When they finally brought their weapons down all at once, Arin couldn't even make a sound.
BOOOOOM!
Swords, spears, axes, maces, and all the other weapons wielded by the Platinum Knights rained down from the sky.
At this moment, the word “divine punishment” came to mind.
If despair, a feeling of hopelessness, was to be painted on a canvas, wouldn’t this scene fit it perfectly?
Zzzzzzzzzzt!
Alderson poured all the mana he could muster into the grand magic he had created, Platinum Bastion.
KKKAAAABOOOOOOOOM!
The barrage of weapons from the Platinum Knights crashed down upon his Platinum Bastion.
For a moment, the entire world seemed to tremble and shake.
Alderson let out a yell that sounded almost like a battle cry.
He fully merged with the grand magic to strengthen the defense if even a little more. At this moment, the Platinum Bastion was Alderson’s body, and his body was the Platinum Bastion.
The rain of weapons from the sky felt like they were striking his own flesh.
His aged body groaned under the strain. “Cough...!”
Unable to withstand the crushing force of his creation, Alderson fell to his knees.
“Headmaster!”
He shook his head calmly, stopping Arin from rushing over.
His vision was blurry, and the corners of his eyes burned. The blood vessels in his eyes must have burst.
He felt a surge of blood rising up from his throat that he quickly gulped down.
This was the consequence of casting magic with an already unwell body. He decided he wouldn’t complain about it.
“Hoohoo...” Alderson chuckled bitterly as he swallowed down the rising blood.
He saw hundreds of weapons blocked by the barrier.
The Platinum Bastion.
It had held up better than he’d expected, but it was at its limit.
“Really... Whoever made this... must be ridiculously strong...”
[...]
“...This isn’t how it should be. Do you hear me, Platinum Knight Order? I wanted you to be the shield that protects the academy. It was a contradictory wish, really. I always dreamed of the moment you would protect the cadets, but I never truly wanted that moment to come. A shield holds the most value when it never has to be used...”
Alderson’s wrinkled face scrunched up as he felt overwhelmed by a sudden wave of emotions.
“This is... this is just too cruel. You are attacking the very people you were meant to protect...”
[...]
“I know, this is all due to my carelessness, and you are not to blame.”
Crack... Craaack...
The Platinum Bastion flickered as if it was about to disappear at any moment. How much longer could it hold?
Alderson made the most optimistic estimation—at best, one more minute.
And it had only been five minutes since he’d begun to face the Platinum Knights.
He had been so focused on the grand magic that he hadn’t even properly infused mana into their mana stones.
...
Alderson thought as hard as he could.
One minute until the barrier would completely shatter.
Could he stop all of the armored cavalry within the next minute?
No, the archmage realized. It was impossible.
In fact, it had been impossible from the start.
...Which meant, from the beginning, that there had only been one way.
[...]
The armored knights in the sky froze for a split second.
Have you realized? But it’s already too late.
In an instant, violet mana extended out from Headmaster Alderson to wrap around all of the armored knights.
Arin gasped, awed at the sight. “Wow...”
The sight of intangible mana swirling like strands of thread, binding the bodies of hundreds of armored cavalry, was so mesmerizing that it momentarily made her forget the situation.
But...
What was the headmaster intending to do?
This was definitely something only an archmage could do, but this alone would not be enough to disable the knights.
Even at a glance, Arin could clearly see that he was using up a lot of mana. With the headmaster in his current state, how long could he keep it up?
...
He didn’t have to keep it up for long. All he needed was ten seconds.
Headmaster Alderson's eyes gleamed intensely.
Emergency command: Whiteout.
In other words, an order to self-destruct.
Headmaster Alderson tightly shut his eyes.
...May you rest in peace.